One of the Gang
by Aldira
Summary: Before Harry met Ron and Hermione, he had friends in a group of greasers in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, and S.E. Hinton, author of _The Outsiders_.

Warnings: Possibly future slash, characters might be OOC, timeline in the Harry Potter series is shifted

**One of the Gang**

A young Harry Potter shifted nervously as he stood in front of several children. His teacher placed her hand on Dudley, completely ignoring Harry. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia no doubt spun a tale about how he was a juvenile delinquent. "Class, be sure to make Dudley feel welcome."

One look around the room and Harry could tell the room was divided into three groups: the rich, the middle-class, and the poor. Dudley would instantly fit in with the wealthier side. Unlike his classily dressed cousin in his khaki slacks and madras shirt, Harry wore Dudley's black t-shirt that had faded to an old grey and over washed, ripped jeans. The two were completely different right down to their shoes despite being related.

After being dismissed by his teacher, Harry headed to the seat next to the middle class students only to be beaten by his cousin. Sending him a smug look, Dudley proceeded to converse loudly with others around him. Harry glanced quickly around the room, finding only one desk left in the middle of the more poor, delinquent like children. They looked scary with their greasy hair and stony faces. Not wanting to get in trouble, Harry walked skittishly to his seat. Feeling like a deer in a den of lions, he hunched in on himself.

* * *

Ponyboy followed his dad into the house, quietly musing about his day. Walking into the kitchen he was greeted by the sight of his mother making a chocolate cake. "Hello, darling!" She immediately came over after setting down her whisk and kissed him on the cheek. She came up and kissed her husband as well. "How was your day?" She directed the question to both of them. "Great. What 'bout you sport?" Darrel ruffled his son's hair. Ponyboy climbed into a chair. "There were new students in our class today," he paused. "It's weird because one of them dresses like a Soc while the other dresses like a greaser even though they live together."

"Huh. That is strange." Darrel scratched his head. "Maybe they're having financial issues?" He turned towards his wife with a question in his eyes. "But why does one of them get new clothes while the other gets stuck with old ones?" Joce pointed out. A contemplative silence settled over the three before the sound of the door opening broke it. "Soda! Darry!" Ponyboy bolted out of his seat. "Pony!" An excited voice was heard along with the door slamming shut. Any thought about the new family was pushed away as the house was filled with the chaos of its own family.

* * *

Harry stood embarrassed as the teacher went on about how greasers don't care about school and how he should not show up at all if he comes late. When she started ranting about how he didn't deserve to go to school, Harry felt his anger rise. It wasn't his fault Dudley hid Harry's homework. It was Dudley who didn't care about school! Dudley should be the one who was getting yelled at, not Harry. When he couldn't take the accusations anymore, he lifted his gaze and stared defiantly back at his teacher. His demeanor dropped, however, as his wide eyes took in the state of her hair. Ms. Haynes once neatly trimmed, blonde, _normal_, hair was now a bright teal. His classmates stared and gaped at the sudden, unnatural change in hair color.

"What?" Ms. Haynes turned around, looking at the class when all the background snickering ceased. She looked behind her when she saw the children continue to stare above her head. Scanning her students' faces once more, she froze when she caught a glimpse of blue on her hair. She leaned in until her nose was inches away from Harry's face and stared right into his glasses. Letting out a heartbroken sound, Ms. Haynes wrenched at her hair violently.

"My hair!" she whimpered, still staring half-crazed at her reflection. Suddenly focusing on Harry's eyes, she glared stonily at him.

"You!" she hissed out. Snarling at Harry, her hands shot out and gripped his shoulders painfully.

"Get out!" Ms. Haynes shoved him in the direction of the door. "Leave and never come back!"

Harry stumbled before turning around and running out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: All rights belong to J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, and S.E. Hinton, author of _The_ _Outsiders_.

Warnings: future slash, meaning boyxboy, characters might be OOC, timeline in Harry Potter series is shifted

**One of the Gang**

"And he made her hair blue!" Ponyboy recounted excitedly. Darry shook his head as Soda exclaimed "really?" excitedly.

"Nah, that's impossible, Pony."

"It's true! I saw it! It's like magic!"

Steve scoffed. "Please. There's no such thing as magic."

Ponyboy ran ahead and turned around, walking backwards. "But it really happened!"

"I believe him," Johnny piped in softly next to Dally.

"Yeah, Steve! Don't be such a downer!" Two-Bit threw his arm around Steve's shoulder as the group continued to walk around the neighborhood.

They stopped when Pony halted abruptly, causing each to stumble to try not to crash into the person in front of them.

"Hey! What's the hold up?" Steve grumbled, annoyed at Pony.

The redhead didn't answer as he watched Harry literally thrown out of a house, landing with a painful thud against the floor. He winced when Harry slid against the unforgiving cement, tenderly caressing his own hands in sympathy.

* * *

Tense with fear, Harry braced himself as he was thrown out of the house, scraping his palms and knees against the unsympathetic ground.

"Stay out, you little freak! Don't come back 'til morning!"

Harry flinched as his uncle slammed the door.

"Well, that wasn't very nice, was it?"

Jerking his head up, Harry's green wide eyes looked at the rather large group in front of him, shivering in slight fear in remembrance of Dudley's own gang of bullies.

An older blond with friendly eyes moved forward and lifted a hand. Harry flinched again, thinking the other would hit him. When his offered hand was left hanging in the air for an extended period of time, he dropped it to his side awkwardly. Harry gingerly lifted himself up and backed up slowly.

* * *

Ponyboy stared when Harry regarded Sodapop in a suspicious manner. Before all of them could do anything, the brunet turned and hi-tailed it out of there.

Two-Bit whistled. "Boy, can he run! Almost as fast as you, Pony!"

"That the kid you talkin' 'bout?" Dally raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Pony said slowly. "His name's Harry."

Sodapop stared at the rapidly disappearing figure in the late summer afternoon. "Was it something I said?"

Darry placed a hand on his younger brother's shoulder. "Nah, he's probably just scared by ya."

"Me?" exclaimed Soda in a disbelieving voice.

"Soda couldn't even hurt a fly!" his best friend teased.

The blond shoved Steve's shoulder playfully while scowling good-naturedly.

"Think his family beats him, too?"

With that, everyone sobered up at Johnny's comment. Dally threw an arm around Johnny in comfort.

Darry sighed, suddenly feeling weariness drape over him. "I don't know, Johnnycake, but we'll keep an eye on him from now on."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: All rights belong to J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, and S.E. Hinton, author of _The Outsiders._

Warnings: future slash, meaning boyxboy, characters might be OOC, Harry Potter timeline is shifted

**One of the Gang**

Harry didn't show up to school the next day. The redhead would be lying if he said he wasn't worried. He glanced at Harry's cousin who acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Ponyboy sat fidgeting in his seat, itching to go home to tell his brothers about the absence. A sense of foreboding filled him, increasing his uneasiness tenfold.

When the school bell finally rang, Ponyboy shoved all his school supplies in his backpack and ran home as fast as his little legs could carry him. Nearing his destination, he heard the screech of tires behind him. Ponyboy came to a halt when he heard a shout of his name. The car reversed until the driver could lean across his seat to look out the window at the boy.

"What are you doing, Ponyboy?" his dad asked. "I was on the way to pick you up from school."

"I need to tell Darry and Soda something important!" Darrel chuckled at the passionate answer before opening the passenger door.

"Well then, let's take you home so you can tell them this vitally important information." Ponyboy hopped into the car and buckled his seatbelt. Moving around restlessly, he silently urged his dad to drive faster.

"So, how was your day, kiddo?"

"Okay," Ponyboy answered absentmindedly, already unbuckling the seatbelt and darting out of the car and into the house before Darrel could say anything further. He shook his head mirthfully at his son's exuberance and exited calmly. Leaving the front door of his home unlocked for anyone seeking solace, Darrel was greeted by the sight of Ponyboy running around before rushing past him to sit tensely on the porch. Pony didn't have to wait long as Soda and Darry showed up soon after.

"Soda, Darry!" He flew off the porch and into their arms, not giving them time to recover from their initial surprise. "Harry wasn't here today! Do you think there's something wrong with him?"

The two older brothers shared a look.

"Do you think we should check it out?" Soda asked.

Darry pursed his lips and drew his eyebrows together. After sending a quick glance towards his parents direction, he gave a small nod.

"Here, give me your pack, Soda," Darry carried both of their backpacks and deposited them by the door. He called into the house. "Mom, Dad! We're heading out for a while!"

"Take care of your brothers, Darry! Be back before sundown!" his mother replied from the kitchen.

Darry rolled his eyes. "Of course I will!"

He jumped off the porch steps and jogged to where Pony and Soda were waiting. Darry ruffled their hair playfully, ignoring their indignant cries and pouts as he led them to where he believed Harry's house was located.

The three brothers walked around the middle class neighborhood, trying for the life of them to find the right house.

"Ah! I can't take it anymore!" Soda shouted melodramatically, gripping his hair in irritation. "Why do all the houses look exactly the same?!"

It was creepy how identical they were with only the slightest of differences; it made him feel like they were in a horror movie with clones trying to exterminate them. A shiver ran down his spine at that thought. Even Darry felt disgruntled at the cookie cutter houses.

Pony let out a sudden gasp. "Hide!"

He ducked behind a row of perfectly trimmed bushes, yanking down his brothers to kneel in the dirt with him. As he heard muttered complaints and questions, Pony shushed them and peeked over the leaves. Darry and Soda soon joined him in spying on the Dursleys who were currently stepping into their car.

"I don't see Harry with them," whispered Pony.

"Did they leave him?" Soda questioned, eyeing the family in distaste as they drove away.

Darry stood up from his crouched position, striding deliberately to the front door. "Let's find out."

The oldest brother tugged on the handle half heartedly to confirm his suspicions.

"Locked," he murmured. He bit his lip, searching for any way in.

"We could climb the fence," Soda gestured to the white picket fence blocking the backyard from view. Darry nodded to show his acceptance.

"You first, Soda." The blond pulled himself over with ease.

"Gotcha Pony," Darry lifted his kid brother and dropped him gently over the other side before climbing over himself. Pony rubbed his arm nervously about the prospect of invading another's privacy but figured Harry's safety mattered more.

The nine year old looked up when his older brother let out a cry of triumph.

"The back door's unlocked!" said Soda, already opening it and slipping in-between the small crack. When Darry gave him an encouraging nudge, Pony followed after Soda with Darry closely behind him.


End file.
